Responsibility Charts

Here’s aCreative Solution that attempts to decrease nagging and yelling by using Responsibility Charts.

My oldest has a lot of ADD (ADHD-inattentive) tendencies, so remembering to follow directions (or follow through… or focus…) is an ongoing struggle.

We have the expectation that everyone in our home contributes to the responsibility of maintaining the home, and we also want to raise self-sufficient kids. For a kid who can’t-gotta-wanna focus, this is very hard. For his Mom, this involves a lot of yelling. My basic problem was that too much of my interaction with a kid I love involved yelling–just to remind him to do the things he knows he needs to do.

I needed a Creative Solution to help remind my focus-challenged kid. Writing down a list helps tremendously. It focuses attention on the things that need to be done with clarity. Thus was born the Responsibility Charts.

Basically, I…

brainstormed a list of the things I need each kid to do,

in different rooms,

at different times of the day,

printed them up (with words and a small clipart image to act as a visual prompt),

laminated them, and

hung them throughout the house using Command 3M hooks.

And it worked. Kind of. In a better-than-before-but-not-perfect kind of way. It helps remove my nagging voice from what needs to be done. Both kids have a better grasp on what needs to be done. I do still need to remind them to check their lists, but it all involves significantly less negativity.

Brainstorm a List

Think through your day with the beloved kiddo; what are the things he/she needs to do (that you end up having to remind him/her to do)?

To get you started, here’s a look at mine. Use them as your baseline. If you’d like a copy of any chart, contact me and I can send you either a PDF or a Word doc that you can edit and come up with your own Creative Solution.

In the bedrooms, one side has “Morning/Bedtime Responsibilities” and on the other is “How to Clean Your Room.”

For the bathroom…

In the Playroom, one side walks the boys through every thing that needs to be picked up, and the other side includes a list of jobs the boys could do (to earn extra money).

In the Kitchen, I post their mealtime responsibilities as well as what they need to do before they are allowed to play.

Recently, I created a new variable responsibilities chart, for things that they may or may not need to do in the morning. Instead of me leaving a note, this is reusable. Sometimes they need to shower in the morning; sometimes they shower at night. And at this moment in their lives, they need every reminder to hang the gosh darn towel.

Laminate & Hang

Because I am an office supply geek, I have a laminator (which is technically called a laminating machine and sounds much less super-hero). I got mine on a super-amazing deal on Amazon and paid $17.49. Currently it’s $30. I also buy the generic laminator sheets from Amazon… 100 sheets for $9.78. If you are not an office supply geek, it’s ok. You don’t need the laminator. Mine makes me happy. Live and let live. (If you live close by, I’m happy to lend you mine!)

If you want a sign that can have two sides, a laminator is helpful. Other options include using a sheet protector or simply stapling/taping it to the wall.

Once I laminated it, I punch a couple of holes in the top, loop some ribbon or yarn through, and hang it on a 3M Command hook.